FNV: HH - Wolf Eyes
by Lupus Rufus
Summary: The midwife of the Sorrows takes a moment to speak with a newcomer to her valley. (Fallout: New Vegas - Honest Hearts)


"Blessings of the Father-In-The-Cave upon you."

The outsider's eyes went from the fire to Waking-Cloud's shadow. They trailed up the thin, willow-lithe figure of the midwife, coming to rest on her gentle blue eyes. The hard hazel stare of the warrior — at least, one could only assume she was one — would've made lesser men shy, but not Waking-Cloud. She was both mother and fighter, and had danced with death at the jaws of yao guai and in her birthing bed. Even those she wrapped and sown sometimes fought her, and through all this, she'd lost her fear. Besides, Daniel would never let someone of ill intent knowingly into the Sorrows' camp.

The woman grunted, turning back to the fire. Ragged scars, white against her sun-baked skin, lost themselves in ragged hair of dark gold. It was like the unkempt mane of the stranger meant to hide her face. Her chin dipped, and she moved a fraction aside — Waking-Cloud took this as an invitation to sit. When she did, the outsider shied away, pulling her leather-clad knees close. Waking-Cloud was quick to notice the bandages poking through holes in the patchwork fabric and leather.

"You took many bullets from the White-Legs in the last skirmish. I saw you limp. Shall I take a look at them for you?"

The outsider's face twisted as if she'd stepped in something foul. Waking-Cloud could swear the woman was trying to bare her teeth. "No." Away from the healer she moved again, almost on the other side of the fire, cliff-face to her back. It wasn't difficult to see that she was trying to protect her back. What did this outsider have to fear from the Sorrows?

Extending a hand, Waking-Cloud wondered if she should remove her collar of brown-gold feathers. It framed her face as the plumes of a sage grouse might, made with the help of her husband's loving hands. She loathed taking it off, not wanting to damage or lose it, but it could seem intimidating in the darkness. The Crazy Horns had worn great, curling headdresses to inspire fear in their enemies, decorating them with jagged bone and broken fangs. What if this outsider had fought such a foe, some of their scars left by their arrows and blades?

Alas, it seemed there was more than that. The woman was baring her teeth again like a dog; Waking-Cloud chuckled. The woman's lip curled tighter. "You remind me of the wolves in the mountains," said the midwife, voice light. "You look like you want to bite me!"

"Maybe I will," the outsider said, and her voice carried no trace of humour. Waking-Cloud frowned.

"You know Daniel wouldn't allow that. Neither would I."

The outsider grunted and looked away, or at least tried to. She seemed unable to completely turn her attention away from Waking-Cloud. She was suspicious — fearful, even. Waking-Cloud felt a twinge of surprise. This strange woman, who had charged the White-Leg storm-drummers head-on with a knife and a raging scream, was acting as if Waking-Cloud might reach out and strike her. All the healer could do was sigh, turning back to the fire. Maybe if she didn't look at the woman, it would make her feel less nervous.

There was silence between the two for a long while. Only crickets, the bleat of a distant bighorner, and the grunts of far-off yao-guai broke it. A lonely howl echoed from the hills, and the stranger lifted her head, considering it. Her eyes were distant, and her arms dropped a little from their tight grip. Waking-Cloud looked into the distance in the direction the sound had come from.

"They do not come into the valley often," said the Sorrow. "The yao-guai frighten them, and if they don't, we do. When they do come, they take only a gecko or two. Sometimes the birds." She turned her head a fraction, glancing at the outsider-woman from the corner of her eye.

"Are you afraid of them? The wolves?"

"No."

"The yao-guai?"

"No."

Waking-Cloud smiled. "Ah, good. I thought for a minute that my gauntlet was worrying to you."

The stranger turned as quick as a rattlesnake's strike. The glare she gave could start a fire; Waking-Cloud paid it no mind. At least now the woman was facing her. "You think I'm scared of a fucking _paw_?" she snapped.

"Well, you _are_ scared of something, outsider," Waking-Cloud retorted. The other woman's face was incredulous. "You act as if we'd take your life in your sleep."

"I'm not scared," the outsider said, turning away. She hunched her shoulders again, hiding her face close to her chest. "I'm cautious. I don't know any of you."

"But you have Daniel's blessing and that of Joshua Graham," said Waking-Cloud. "And we are a peaceful people. We would do nothing to harm you."

The woman said nothing to that. Her eyes were on the fire, staring so hard that they began to water. Waking-Cloud turned away from her again. "Will you at least take some food, if I cook it in front of you?"

The outsider was quiet. Waking-Cloud went to rise, her own hunger nagging at her to act. The other woman's voice came as unexpected as a twig's snap in the darkness.

"I would."

Waking-Cloud nodded. She walked off to retrieve yucca from a clay pot, gathered an hour before the sunset by her own hands. Though it was in sight of the fire, the midwife didn't expect the outsider to stay despite her assurance.

And yet, when the Sorrow-woman returned, the outsider was still there. She was looking at Waking-Cloud, too, watching every move now. The midwife knelt, setting down a long bone skewer and taking a knife from her belt. She pared and skinned the fruit with ease, humming a soft hymn Daniel had taught her as she worked. The outsider cocked her head, and Waking-Cloud felt even more like she was looking at a wolf. Even the stranger's tongue was poking out a little, like a hungry animal's would! And there, now: it swiped across her lips like one!

It wasn't long before the yucca was on the fire. Waking-Cloud went to the river to wash her hands of the juices. The outsider was glued to the side of the fire now. So much like an animal, this woman was — wounded, somehow, in the past. The marks on her body said it as much as her eyes did. Perhaps Waking-Cloud could coax the woman out of whatever she had wrapped herself in, whether it came from sorrow or grief or pain.

The Sorrow kept a small distance, sitting on the other side of the fire as she worked to remove the fruit. She winced a little as a steaming fragment landed on one finger, shaken off with a flick. The other woman's head perked again, but she said nothing; Waking-Cloud left dinner on a pair of raised rocks to cool. Waking-Cloud half-expected the stranger to snatch away what she wanted. Instead, the stranger kept staring with those hungry, wolfish eyes, glancing at the healer and back at their meal.

**\- o0o -**

_Fallout: New Vegas _©_ Bethesda, Interplay, Obsidian, __and other associated creators.  
_

_Cover image made with Hero Machine._

_Last edited 08/2019 for grammatical and spelling errors._


End file.
